The present invention is addressed to the removal of fibrous material wound around a generally cylindrical shaft, which shaft is rotated about a central longitudinal axis thereof.
The removal of fibrous material, such as carpet fibers, string, hair, thread, and the like, wound around a rotating shaft, such as that found in a vacuum cleaner, is a problem which has long perplexed both the cleaning and manufacturing industries alike. Indeed, anyone who has ever operated a vacuum cleaner in either a residential or a commercial setting is likely to have known the frustration of having to manually disentangle the shaft or beater bar. Such frustration, however, is not limited to the operation of vacuum cleaners, but may be found in many other fields wherein a rotating shaft comes into contact with fibrous materials. For example, equipment as diverse as textile looms, marine outboard motors, and lawn and garden equipment like mowers and trimmers all involve, in some respect, the rotation of a shaft member which may come into contact with synthetic fibers such as string, thread, or yarn, or natural fibers from vegetation or the like.
The fouling of rotating shafts from fibrous materials not only causes frustration, but also represents a significant expense in increasing maintenance costs and in decreasing productivity. For example, with respect to vacuum cleaners, the wound fibers are known to migrate to the ends of the beater bar or roller creating friction which both decreases the cleaning performance of the vacuum, and also causes slipping of the belt which drives the roller leading to the burning and eventual breakage of the belt. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that apparatus and methods which protect rotating shafts from fouling by fibrous materials would be well-received both by residential and commercial users alike. Thus, there has been and heretofore has remained a need for improvements in the removal of fibrous material from a rotating shaft.